The present invention relates to telescoping seating systems; and more particularly it relates to a telescoping seating system which includes a plurality of telescoping "seating" or "platform" sections on which folding chairs are provided. Each individual chair in a system like this is preferably provided with a back, seat and arms, and it has its rear legs pivotally mounted to the riser of a seating section.
The chairs are folded to a horizontal position, resting on a platform so that when the seating sections are telescoped to a retracted position for storage, the chairs do not interfere with the telescoping action. Chairs of this general type are disclosed in the co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,567,276 of Van Ryn, issued Mar. 2, 1971, except that the folding arm structure of the patented chair need not be employed. Of course, other chair structures may equally well be employed with the present invention.
In the past, when folding chairs were mounted to the riser of a platform section, holes were drilled in precisely determined locations to achieve lateral alignment of the chairs as well as to achieve the proper height of the rear chair legs on the riser section. Such precise drilling required considerable amounts of labor to install a telescoping seating system of this type, and each hole drilled in the riser presented a potential weakness point in the platform structure.
The present invention provides an elongated metal extruded beam for the riser, and it is structured to define a horizontal slot for mounting the rear legs of the folding chairs with sliding fasteners. Mounting may be accomplished in any number of ways, but is preferred that a bracket be used to pivotally mount the rear legs of the chairs, and that a quarter-turn bolt and nut be used to secure the bracket to the slot, with the nut riding in the slot and facilitating lateral alignment of the chairs. A similar metal extruded beam is provided in the forward or "nose" portion of each platform section. When the system is extended for use, the nose beam of an upper section overlies the riser beam of the next lower section (except, of course, for the lowest section), and the two beams, acting as lateral beams, cooperate to provide strength to each individual platform section. The riser beams further cooperate with vertical support posts for each section to support the forward end of upper platform sections.
The inventive apparatus for mounting folding chairs to the risers of telescoping platform sections not only facilitates installation and alignment of the chairs, but it permits removal of the chairs for repair or replacement. Further, the location and design of the structure which provides the slot adds mass to the riser beam in the upper third portion of it, thereby adding additional strength and deflection resistance to the platform section. The extrusion includes a lower lip or landing for aligning the rear chair brackets in vertical disposition, thereby making installation still easier, and this lip also serves to restrain the brackets against twisting during installation.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment accompanied by the attached drawing wherein identical reference numerals will refer to like parts in their various views.